Blinken calls for the protection of civilians in Gaza
AFP quoted a source close to the Islamic resistance movement as saying (agitation) The movement expressed its readiness to extend the truce again at the request of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop fighting Gaza.
The ceasefire that began last Friday morning has been extended twice before and is expected to end at 7 a.m. this Friday. The ceasefire allows for prisoner exchanges and allows more humanitarian aid to enter the besieged and devastated Gaza Strip. .
“The mediators are currently making strong, intense and sustained efforts to extend the truce by one day and then working to extend the truce for a few days,” a source close to Hamas said.
He added, “Hamas is ready for an extension and Israel has informed the mediators that it wants an extension if the resistance guarantees the release of the required number of prisoners.”
On the seventh day of the truce, eight hostages were released in exchange for 30 female prisoners and children in the occupied prison.
On Thursday morning, Hamas announced that it had reached an agreement to extend the truce for a “seventh day,” a news also confirmed by Qatar, which has been engaged in intense negotiations with the support of Egypt and the United States.
Blinken invitation
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called from Tel Aviv for the ceasefire to be extended for “an eighth day or more” and said the United States was committed to the ceasefire’s goals and was working with Qatar, Egypt and Israel to do so, he added. Efforts are underway to increase assistance to the sector, particularly the flow of fuel.
Blinken added that Israel has signaled its intention to resume military operations in Gaza as soon as the detainees are exchanged. He said the way Israel “defenses itself” is important and must comply with international law, explaining that he called on Israeli officials to come up with plans to protect civilians in Gaza.
The U.S. secretary of state urged Israel to ensure “safe areas” in central and southern Gaza as it resumes military operations and said Israel had agreed to protect civilians and continue to provide aid ahead of any attacks in the southern Gaza Strip.
The U.S. Secretary of State met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and participated in the Israeli War Council meeting in Tel Aviv, and expressed support for the continuation of the truce in light of the results achieved.
John Kirby, strategic policy coordinator at the National Security Council, said in Washington that Washington would continue to work with Qatar and Egypt to extend the humanitarian truce and secure the release of Gaza detainees, noting that the United States does not currently support a ceasefire.
Kirby added that more than 100 people detained in Gaza had been released in the first six days of the truce, noting that six Americans have now left the Strip.
The U.S. National Security Council’s strategic policy coordinator said the United States would continue to support Israel if it decided to return to attacking Hamas in exchange for Washington’s desire to extend the truce.
national effort
Reuters quoted a U.S. official as saying that Qatar has taken a proactive approach to negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
The official added that Doha pushed for solutions to bridge the gap in needs between Israel and Hamas, particularly regarding detainees.
Reuters also quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Qatar reached an agreement on how to evacuate Gaza hospitals, including Al-Shifa, during negotiations on November 22. will not cause it to crash.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced yesterday Thursday morning that the Palestinian and Israeli parties had reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for another day and end on Friday morning, under the same conditions as before.
war begins again
Meanwhile, Israeli occupying forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said late Thursday that the army was ready to resume fighting in the Gaza Strip immediately.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said in a concurrent statement that Tel Aviv was fighting what he called a just war, as he called it, before releasing detainees in the Gaza Strip and destroying the Hamas movement. The war will not stop.
Against this backdrop, the Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. officials as saying they expected Israel to resume military operations and begin an advance toward the southern Gaza Strip.
Israel Channel 13 quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the Israeli Defense Minister told the US Secretary of State that the military operation in Gaza may take months rather than weeks.
Since October 7 last year, the Israeli army has been waging an all-out war in Gaza, resulting in more than 15,000 martyrs and more than 30,000 injured, mostly children and women, and massive destruction of infrastructure, causing “unprecedented humanitarian consequences.” disaster”.
